


Sleep's Sweet Embrace

by thinlizzy2



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Family, Gen, Mentions Death of a Parent, Patty Backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 11:58:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7683682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/pseuds/thinlizzy2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt on the Ghostbusters kink meme:</p><p> </p><p>  <i>Patty was the only one who didn't really get her moment of vulnerability during the movie. </i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>Something deep and moving about Patty & her past/motivation etc. (& I wouldn't kick bonus!Tolzmann out of bed if it happened to drift in that direction...)</i></p><p> </p><p>No actual kink in this one, but lots of Patty!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep's Sweet Embrace

Patty has never been much good at sleeping. She can pass out fairly easily but it's like her mind keeps working even when it should be resting. It wakes her up to remind her of the problems that she didn't solve the previous day and the challenges of the day ahead. The bigger the issues, the less sleep she gets. So ever since a ghost chased her through the subway tunnels of NYC she's been lucky to get more than a couple of hours in a row. 

She swings her legs out of bed, careful not to wake up Holtzmann. The younger woman stirs a bit, smacks her lips and mutters something unintelligible, but she continues to sleep. Holtzmann's sleep issues are different from her own, Patty has noticed. Holtzy doesn't observe any kind of regular bedtime; it's more like the clock is a well-meaning but ultimately useless suggestion. She works or she studies late into the night, crawling into bed only once she's satisfied that all her efforts are complete. But then she sleeps with the same fierce commitment she brings to everything else: her inventions, hunting ghosts, making love. 

Patty crouches by the side of the bed until she is sure Holtzmann won't wake up, then she presses a kiss into all that messy blonde hair. This is still new and strange in a lot of ways. Patty's never been with a white girl before. That's not by design; it's just how things happened. She really hasn’t been with a lot of women at all, just a few casual harmless flings and then two long-term loves that ripped her heart out when they ended. And she's also never been with a genius before, or someone so much younger than her, or a maniac, or someone whose very life she once held in one trembling hand. 

She wanders into the kitchen and reaches for her phone. She knows without even checking that there will be messages and who from, and she's right. Three of them, one from her uncle and two from her father. She knows uncle Bill will probably be asleep by now, but she calls her father's number and isn't even a little bit surprised when he picks up on the first ring. "Hey Daddy", she says, and listens to the relief in his voice as he greets her in return. 

Patty's in her late forties and her father is in his mid seventies, but she calls him Daddy and she imagines that she always will. After her mother died and before uncle Bill left the army it was him and her alone for over a decade, just Patty and her Daddy and neither one of them had wanted to change anything or risk losing anything else. And so she still calls him Daddy and he still calls her Pattycake and that just how it's going to be forever. 

Her Daddy tries to sound like he was just checking in, wanting to know if they're still on for supper on Saturday and if she wants to go camping with him in July. She tells him yes and yes, and he happily settles into the telling her the details of both plans. Patty listens to his voice but not his words; she knows neither of them are really paying attention to what they're saying. But George Tolan saw his baby girl being attacked by ghosts for hours on live TV and if he just needs to talk then that girl is willing to listen. 

Patty remembers the day she told him she was gay. It had been a casual thing for her; they told each other everything and they accepted everything they were told. But her father had started to cry and Patty's blood had turned to icy terror at the idea that maybe she'd been wrong, maybe this wouldn't be just fine, maybe she was actually going to lose him. Then he'd seen her face and pulled her close, promising that of course he still loved her but he was scared that she would have to face the hate of other people now. And Patty had laughed and reminded him that she was six feet of smart opinionated black woman. So that ship had probably sailed long ago. 

No one had called for Holtzy after Rowan's attack. Not really. Erin had huddled on the phone with her parents and what had seemed like an endless stream of brothers, sisters and cousins had kept calling for Abby for several days. But Holtzmann had had one call with someone she'd called Doctor something, a quick two-minute confirmation that she was okay and then a promise to email the specs of some of her weapons in the morning. And then she'd shrugged and gone to play cards with Kevin and Patty had kept reassuring her Daddy and uncle Bill that everything was fine while her heart was aching at the sight of Holtzy's abandoned cell phone. 

She can hear her father stifling yawns so she suggests that they sign off for the night, promising to call him again in a couple of days to confirm their plans. That's crazy of course; nothing needs confirming. But if her Daddy needs to hear her voice, then Patty will talk. 

She knows sleep is going to be a lost cause now, so she decides to put the time to good use. By the time the sun rises, Patty has a cheese and mushroom frittata in the oven, a multi-seed loaf in the breadmaker and two chapters read of a really well-researched book about the history of early gang culture in Hell's Kitchen. 

"Something smells amazing." Holtzmann appears in the doorway wrapped in the same maroon bathrobe she often uses as a blazer. She opens the oven and inhales deeply. "This is all part of your evil plan to make me eat healthy food, isn't it?" 

"You can't live on chips and soda forever", Patty says, handing her a cup of coffee. She busies herself with the frittata so Holtzmann won't see her face. Maybe the lack of sleep plays into it, or her father's concern, or the fact that she nearly died a few days ago. But she also knows that a big part of what's making her insides feel like delicate blown glass is Holtzmann waking up in her bed and sitting at her table and eating her breakfast things like it's no big deal. Ghosts are real and there are other dimensions and Patty Tolan is very possibly falling in love again, and she understands all over again the shock that her father must have felt as he watched everything he once believed come apart on the television. 

"You wanna have dinner on Saturday?" Patty asks, once they've finished breakfast. 

Holtzmann nods. "Sounds good. Thai?" 

"No, I meant with my family. My Daddy and my uncle Bill." Patty's cheeks burn. She usually says father in front of other people, at least until they've met him. She hears the word that sounded so natural and affectionate a few hours ago turn ridiculously childish now. 

But Holtzmann grins like it's Christmas morning. "For real? Sure, I'd love to meet your family!" She cocks her head. "They... know about me? About us?" 

Patty nods. Her Daddy will be thrilled if she turns up with Holtzmann. He's been wanting to meet her ever since Patty first described her. He's always believed in safety in numbers and hoped she'd find a way to expand their little family. 

"Awesome." Holtzmann's smile grows another impossible inch. "So what do you want to do today then?" 

And Patty beams back at her, suddenly weightless and worry-free. "Actually, I thought I might sleep for a couple more hours."


End file.
